Coming Back Alternate storyline part 1
by BATulip
Summary: The story took a different direction, so in order to add an elemental twist that helps carry it through to Shades of Orange and beyond, I had to alter the original story.


Bright, morning sunlight streamed into her apartment through her living room windows as Catherine stood waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. The last few months had been something of a nightmare, she couldn't believe everything that had transpired since Thanksgiving dinner at her fathers. Arresting her father, shooting Vincent, Tori's death, that skeleton, the gem, finding Agent Landon's husband Sam and his mental breakdown and eventual suicide, and Gabe…Gabe she wasn't entirely sure what to make of that right now. So much has happened and Gabe said he understood that she wasn't ready yet for a relationship but she wondered how long he would wait for her to get over Vincent, if she ever could that is. The sound of the coffee pot finishing brought her out of her thoughts as she reached for the pot and poured herself a cup. She had just taken a sip when the sound of her cell phone chimed, reaching for it she saw that she had a text from JT: "I need to see you, can you meet me at the university?" Why would JT need to see her? Maybe it was about that gem. "Ok, what time?" she texted back. "2PM?" he replied back. "Should be fine, I will see you then".

The morning was uneventful at the precinct, she did paperwork and went through some cases with Tess. Tess was a great partner and friend, always on her side and willing to listen when Catherine needed a sounding board. At 1PM she told Tess that JT wanted to see her for some reason and that she would be back later. Arriving at the University she scanned the benches that were scattered about the walk ways looking for JT. She spotted him at a lone bench set a ways from the University, evidently he didn't want their conversation to be heard she thought to herself as she made her way to him.

"JT" she said, "what's going on? Is it about that gem?"

"No, and you're not going to like what I have to tell you" he replied. Catherine sat down beside him, as she did she noticed a manila folder beside him on the bench. JT grabbed the folder and handed it to Catherine. "Vincent doesn't know I have this, he will kill me when he finds out but hey that's okay I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is what is in that folder and him keeping it from you."

"Well, that's both cryptic and frightening JT, do I even want to look inside?"

"You have to, not only for yourself but for Vincent as well. This whole thing between the two of you has gone on long enough – too long if you ask me."

"JT, there is no 'thing' between Vincent and myself, not anymore."

"I know, that's what I mean. Just open that folder it's pretty much self-explanatory." JT got up and walked a little bit away from the bench to give Catherine a bit of privacy.

Taking a deep breath to still the disquiet that came over her, Catherine slowly opened the folder. What lay inside caused the blood to drain from her face, she couldn't believe it. "JT, how is this possible? Where did these come from?" Catherine spoke out in a hushed voice, the panic evident as the folder shook in her hands. JT sat down beside her and put a calming hand over hers. Catherine looked up into his face, tears forming in her eyes.

"Explain this to me. What on earth is going on?"

"I got them from Vincent, he got them from your father."

Catherine just stared at him, not comprehending what she had just heard. "What?" She exclaimed in astonishment. "My father? He gave these to Vincent? I don't understand."

Taking a deep breath, JT proceeded to tell Catherine the events that had occurred earlier that morning.

Vincent was looking at the contents of an open manila folder when a knock sounded at the door, reaching out with his senses he discovered that JT had come for a visit. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was barely 7AM. Closing the folder, Vincent walked to the door to let him in, that guy worried way too much about him he thought to himself.

"Hey JT come on in"

"Hey V, thought I'd stop by to see how you were doing. You know, things were a little crazy there for a while and well you did just lost your girlfriend. I mean, I didn't want to leave you to fall into despair or anything."

"Relax JT, I'm fine really. Want a coffee?"

"Ya sure." He said taking a seat at the table. "So seriously now, how are you doing? This whole thing with Tori must have you messed up." Vincent placed a cup of coffee in front of JT as he sat down across from him.

Vincent glanced at JT. "I know I should feel worse than I do but I actually, kind of, feel relieved. I know, that sounds bad but I felt like I was making myself feel something that just wasn't there. I was acting and doing things that I just knew wasn't me. There were times even I didn't recognize myself. When Tori died it was like something broke away, I don't know it's hard to explain. I can't even explain it to myself. Do you know what Tori said just before she died?"

"No, what?"

"She said, 'You belong with Catherine'"

"She said that?"

"She had been sensing for some time that my thoughts had returned towards Catherine. Whatever hold she had on me was breaking and her DNA wasn't affecting me anymore like it used to."

"So you still think about Catherine?"

The look on Vincent's face was answer enough, "all the time, JT, all the time."

"Then why don't you try to make it up to her somehow, it's obvious you still love her."

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

"Why? Because she shot you? That does complicate things but I keep hearing that she had her reasons. Surely you can forgive her or at least talk to her about it."

Vincent sat there in silence for a moment then stood up and retrieved the folder he had been looking at earlier. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, you know you can"

"You must never tell Catherine or anyone for that matter what I am about to tell you." Vincent pushed the folder across the table towards JT, "open it." JT took hold of the folder and opened it. Inside were photographs and as the magnitude of what he was looking at registered in his brain, he jumped up out of his chair, knocking it to the floor. "These are pictures of you, as the beast killing Zach at Catherine's reunion."

"Yup," he said sagely "look at the one underneath it."

JT moved the photo aside to reveal another photo. This one showed Catherine and Vincent in a kiss. The implications were obvious, these pictures not only showed Vincent killing someone but the one of the two of them kissing made Catherine an accomplice to the murders. Vincent watched JT's face as the realization set in as to what he was looking at.

"Are you being blackmailed?" JT asked him.

"Yes, by Catherine's father. As long as I stay away from her, these pictures and many more like them will never see the light of day. It's why I believed killing him was my only option. I had to protect Catherine from this evil man even if it meant she hated me for the rest of her life."

"Vincent, he's in jail he can't hurt you or her anymore."

"JT, when has jail ever stopped anyone with the kind of resources Bob has? He kidnapped me, brainwashed me, erased my memories and used me to go around and kill all these other beasts. Do you really think that he would allow me to get near Catherine again just because he has been incarcerated? He will make sure these pictures get sent to either the press or her bosses and her life will be ruined. She'll lose her job probably go to jail and I will become a wanted criminal, they will probably kill me. I am not ready to die and I will not put her life or integrity in jeopardy. I won't do it."

"It's not right man, she deserves to know."

"Ya well, she's not going to know and you're not going to tell her either."

Vincent got up from the table and went upstairs to his bedroom to calm himself down. JT looked at the pictures in the folder. He knew he couldn't take them but he could take pictures of them. Taking out his phone he quickly took snapshots of the two pictures and put his phone away in his pocket. He closed the folder and glancing up the stairs turned and walked out of the houseboat closing the door behind him. All the way to the University he agonized over those pictures and the promise he made to Vincent to never tell Catherine. It wasn't right, it just wasn't right. Those two were suffering badly and Catherine believed the worst about Vincent and what she believed just wasn't true. JT made up his mind, he was going to have to do the one thing he swore he would never do, break his promise to Vincent.

JT glanced at Catherine as he finished telling her about the pictures and his conversation with Vincent that morning. The play of emotions on her face may have been comical in any other setting but this one and JT watched as black fury took over and settled like a mantel in her eyes. "How DARE he!" She spat out, the hatred in her voice frightened JT and he started to doubt if telling Catherine really was the right thing to do. Catherine stood and paced back and forth in front of the bench where JT sat. Wisely JT kept his mouth shut as he waited for her to process the information he had just shared with her. Catherine stopped her pacing, turned to JT and said, "You were right to tell me, JT. Vincent should never have kept this from me. I shot Vincent to save his humanity, at this moment I am almost wishing I hadn't stopped him."

Relieved, JT realized that the venom in Catherine's voice had been directed at her father, not at him and definitely not at Vincent. JT watched as sorrow filled her eyes, "how could my father have done this? So much pain, so much tragedy. He started all of this but it's like he's blaming Vincent for being what he created him to be and to hold it over the both of us like that?" Catherine sat down on the bench beside JT as sobs shook her, her heart shattering. JT put his hand on her shoulder, not really sure how to comfort her but letting her know he was there. After a moment, Catherine lifted her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks, JT handed her his handkerchief that he kept in his pocket. With a sad smile she took it and dried the tears and wetness from her face. "You are a good friend JT, Vincent should be very grateful to have you as his friend, I too am very grateful." JT doubted Vincent would feel that way when he found out about his involvement in becoming a beast but decided to leave that for another day.

"JT, we have to make this right. Can I count on you to help me with this?"

"Of course, I'll do whatever I can."

"Wonderful. We have to find these pictures, the originals and anything else Bob has that could incriminate either myself or Vincent. I will not allow that man to dictate who I am with or what I do with my life and I will not allow him to blackmail Vincent any longer. He will pay for this but not until I know I have every bit of evidence in my possession. I'll get Tess to help as well." Catherine sat quietly thinking. Turning to JT she said, "The police and FBI had combed through Bob's office and home. They have all the evidence of his own involvement in the deaths and assassinations that he had sent Vincent on but there was nothing there that implicated Vincent, which means he had to have hid that somewhere else but where?"

JT shrugged "the only place I can think of would be a safety deposit box or maybe some kind of safe or locker."

"That's going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack" she said with a sigh.

"He probably wouldn't keep it at the office, he would have taken it home so that no one would find it don't you think?"

"You're probably right. It is a couple hours' drive are you up for a road trip? I'll ask Tess to come along too we need all the eyes we can get and we should probably go before it gets dark."

Catherine called Tess and after a brief explanation told her about heading to Bob's to do a search and if she would like to come along and help. At her affirmation, Catherine and JT left the bench, got in her car, picked up Tess and headed to Bob's house.

A couple hours later, Catherine, with Tess in the passenger seat and JT in the back pulled up to her father house. The house looked exactly the same but had a feeling of emptiness. A for sale sign was in the front yard and Catherine worried that everything inside would be gone. Taking a key out of her back pocket, Catherine opened the door and the three of them stepped inside. The air inside the house was stale indicating that it had been many months since someone had been inside. Sheets covered the furniture and a lot of the items had been packed into boxes and were stacked in the middle of the room. They would go through the boxes if they needed to but would leave that for last, hopefully they wouldn't need to.

"Where do we start and what are we looking for? Tess enquired.

"We are looking for a key, maybe to a locker or safe or maybe a deposit box. We might also be looking for a USB memory stick or anything like that. I'm not entirely sure but we need to find where Bob is hiding this evidence he is blackmailing Vincent with. Hopefully, we will know what it is when we see it."

"That's a pretty tall order, it's not going to be easy"

"I know and there is no guarantee we will even find anything here. We'll split up, someone take upstairs, someone take this level and someone take the basement."

After a short discussion, JT went upstairs and Catherine took the basement which left Tess with the main floor. Thankfully they didn't have to worry about anyone interrupting them in their search which allowed them to take their time and be thorough. Catherine opened the door to the basement and was relieved to discover that the electricity was still on, searching the dark basement with only a flashlight might have proven to be a bit hard on the nerves.

Tess decided to take the study first as it seemed the most logical place to keep things like documents and incriminating pictures. She knew it was probably the first place the police had combed through but she hoped that maybe what she was looking for was something the police didn't think significant.

JT climbed the stairs and opened the first door he came to, inside looked like a guest room. JT looked through the closet, the drawers in the dresser taking them out and checking underneath and in back. He looked for secret compartments and even pulled the dresser away from the wall, nothing. He checked behind the one picture that was still on the wall but there wasn't much in the room and his searching so far was fruitless. He left the room, closing the door behind him and moved on to the next room.

Down in the basement Catherine discovered a door that lead to what looked like a cold room. On one wall was a near empty wine rack and on the other was a pantry that held canned goods. Catherine tested the shelves to see if they moved but they appeared to be fixed to the walls. She checked the racks, pulled the wine bottles out to see if there was anything that could be hidden behind them. To all appearances it looked just as it was, no secrets hidden here.

Tess opened the door to the study, she was not surprised to see the room virtually empty. The desk showed signs of once holding a computer by the evidence of cords but obviously the police had confiscated the computer. The pictures weren't on that, Bob wouldn't have been so reckless to leave them there for anyone to come across be it thief, the police or curious friend. She went through the desk drawers taking them out and checking for hidden compartments or false bottoms or sides. She checked the shelves but all the books were packed up and everything looked normal, no hidden walls. She tested the carpet thinking maybe he hid something there but the carpet looked professionally installed and had no yielding areas. With a sigh, she left the room, closing the door behind her and went into the kitchen.

Upstairs, JT had finished checking all the rooms, even the bathroom. The only room left was the master bedroom, opening the door he walked in and began his search.

Downstairs was proving to be a bust. There was nothing down here but the wine & pantry room and the laundry room. With a frustrated huff, Catherine left the basement and went to see if either Tess or JT needed any help.

Tess had just finished with the kitchen, the only place left was the living room where all the boxes were and she decided that if the boxes need to be gone through then she would wait and the three of them would do it together. Tess turned as she heard Catherine coming up from the basement.

"Didn't find anything either I gather?"

"No and I'm not entirely sure we will either. Let go check on JT and see how he's doing. We may end up having to go through those boxes."

The girls climbed the stairs and spying the one open door at the end of the hallway they walked to it. Tess called out to JT so as not to startle him "JT?"

"In here, I'm in the master bedroom in the ensuite. This dude had some cash didn't he?"

The girls smiled at each other and walked into the master bedroom just as JT was walking out of the ensuite.

"No luck either?"

"Nope."

Catherine looked around the bedroom. She knew they still had the boxes to go through but she seriously doubted they'd find anything. Where else would Bob have thought to hide something? She looked up at the ceiling, thinking, thinking, there was something she was missing, something, the ceiling, something about the ceiling….ATTIC! "An Attic! There has to be an attic in this house maybe he hid it there." Catherine turned around and spying the closet opened it and looked up.

"There!" I found it, I need a chair or something. There is a cord but it is tucked right up against the door."

"There is a stool in one of the rooms, I'll go grab it" JT said as he took off out of the room.

"Cat, don't get to excited yet, there may be nothing up there but insulation" Tess cautioned her.

"I know, I know, your right but something about this, just I don't know it feels right"

Just then JT rushed in with the stool, Catherine took the stool and using the wall of the closet to steady herself, stepped up and reached for the cord that would bring down the attic door. Giving the cord a light tug she was able to pull the door down revealing a small hanging rope ladder. She jumped off the stool, grabbed the rope ladder and climbed it up into the attic. When her head cleared the opening she saw exactly what Tess told her she would find, insulation. Feeling a little deflated she looked behind her and let out a squeal of surprise. She climbed all the way up, turned and looking through the opening to JT and Tess looking up at her. She had a huge smile on her face as she stated "there is a box, I'm going to pass it to you. I think we hit pay dirt." It was hard to keep the excitement out of her voice as she crawled over to the box. She desperately wanted to look inside but held back. She shuffled the box over to the entrance of the attic and passed it through the opening into JT's waiting hands. Tess helped stabilize the box until JT had a good grip and then she went and held the ladder so Catherine could climb back down. Catherine lowered herself through the opening feeling for the ladder with her foot, once she found the first rung she wasted no time climbing down. With both feet on the floor Catherine turned to Tess and both girls turned and looked at JT who was standing in the middle of the bedroom still holding the box. JT looked up, grinned and set the box on the floor and sat down beside it. Tess and Catherine joined him but no one touched the box. Instinctively JT and Tess knew that opening the box what Catherine's right so they both patiently waited for Catherine to get the nerve to open the box.

"There still maybe nothing in here and I am scared to find that out" she confessed. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the flaps and opened the box. She looked inside and burst into tears. Alarmed Tess grabbed the box and looking inside she gave a sudden WOOP startling JT. "You found it!" Tess exclaimed grabbing Catherine in a hug as she continued to sob in both relief and sorrow. Bob had a lot of information in that box, it was nearly full. The implications of that man's evil was beyond imagination.

"We have to get this out of here. I want to go through it. Once I've gone through it I think I need to pay dear old dad a visit." JT and Tess looked at each other, there was no mistaking the tone of Catherine's voice and they both had very similar thoughts, they did not want to be Bob when Catherine got through with him.

JT put the box into Catherine's car and slid into the back seat. He watched Tess and Catherine as they walked through the door. Catherine turned to close the door and lock it, she stared at the key contemplating throwing it away before slipping into her back pocket. Catherine smiled at Tess as the girls walked back to her car, got in and drove away.

Catherine drove to JT's having decided that for Vincent's sake it was best to take the stuff there so that he could decide what he wanted to do with it but first Catherine needed to go through everything as she needed enough evidence to confront Bob.

Setting the box down on the bar in JT's place Catherine glanced at her watch and was shocked by the time. "It's way past dinner and we haven't eaten anything. We need our strength to tackle this, JT can you order us pizza? I need to go to the bathroom and then we will go through this box. "

"Ya, I'm after you on that bathroom thing" Tess chimed in.

"No need to wait ladies, the bathrooms are stalls like a club" JT told them.

The girls went to the bathroom as JT picked up the phone to order pizza. He half contemplated calling Vincent to see if he wanted to help go through the box but decided that conversation should be left for Catherine. In truth he was a bit fearful of Vincent's reaction to JT breaking code and telling Catherine about the blackmail.

A few hours later, the pizza all but gone, the trio sat around JT's kitchen table the contents of the box strewn around the table and on the floor. The amount of material that Bob had on Vincent, Catherine, the Muirfield experiments and beasts was unbelievable. There was information about Vincent being a beast along with pictures of him in his beast state. These must have been taken when he was still captive as none of them recognized the area around him in the picture. There were documents with names and places and means of death. These must have been missions Vincent had been sent on prior to Catherine finding him that day on the docks. The pictures were graphic and horrifying and some showed Vincent actually tearing some of these people apart. It was probably a good thing he had no memory of that time. Catherine glanced at all the pictures, her spirit getting heavier with each horrific image. These were bad, very, very bad and on top of that there were pictures of her and Vincent together. How on earth did Bob manage to take so many pictures of the two of them together? It was enough to implicate Vincent in multiple murders and her as an accomplice. There were 5 USB memory sticks in the box as well and JT was going through those verifying that what they had was also there and even more. Tess kept a close eye on Catherine as did JT, they weren't entirely sure how she was taking all these pictures of Vincent killing all these people even though the documents stated that every one of them were victims of Muirfield, they were all injected with cross species DNA, they were beasts and were using their powers to hurt the innocent. Guilty or innocent, Vincent was acting as judge and executioner under the direct orders of Bob Reynolds none of which can be easy to take when one is your father, even if she only just discovered that, and the other the love of your life. How she was processing all this and not going insane was a mystery to JT and to Tess. Catherine set down the document she was reading and caught both JT and Tess looking at her.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"I was wondering how you were dealing with all this?" Tess said, "It can't be easy seeing Vincent in all these pictures doing all these horrible things. Even though he was under the direct order and control of your father, how is it that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong?"

"We know he had amnesia, that he was brainwashed. It wasn't until I, WE found him again that we were able to break him of that, for the most part any ways." JT stated trying for a bit of reason.

Catherine thought about it and said "I know him, these pictures, these assignments, this is not him. This is something that Bob programmed him to do and now that he is out of the picture he won't be manipulating Vincent any longer. I need to gather enough evidence so that Bob knows that I found this box, hopefully this is all of it and I am pretty sure it is. Tomorrow I am going to confront Bob and then I am going to go and see Vincent. You were right JT, this has gone on long enough."

The fact that Catherine now only referred to her father as "Bob" was telling to both JT and Tess. He was no longer her father. What they wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during that conversation tomorrow.

It was almost midnight when the trio finally finished with everything. Catherine hugged JT "Thank you JT. You have no idea what you have done here. I don't know if I could ever repay you."

JT smiled at her "I just want you to make this all right again."

"Tess, you coming?"

"Yup, just grabbing my things, I'm right behind you."

Catherine grabbed the folder of things to bring to the jail for her meeting with Bob and walked out the door. Tess walked up to JT and smiled at him "You did a good thing." She leaned towards him and kissed him on the mouth and with a wink she was out the door and into the night.

JT grinned and went to the box now repacked, picked it up and stored it away before turning in for the night.

Catherine watched Tess walk to the car, there was something about her face, the way she walked almost like she was pleased with herself. As she got in the car she noted how Catherine was looking at her "What?" she said with a grin. Catherine continued to stare at her and in the interior light of the car she swore Tess was blushing. Catherine looked forward and turned the key in the ignition, contemplating why her dear friend Tess would be blushing after leaving JT's place. She shrugged, figured Tess will tell her when she is ready.

The next morning Catherine was up long before the sun, her mind would not shut down long enough for her to sleep. It wasn't so much her visit to Bob that kept her up, it was her impending visit to Vincent that scared her out of her mind. She had no idea how he was going to take her knowing about the blackmail but she hoped she would have enough information to convince him that not only was he safe but that she was as well. The thought of being with him thrilled her, the thought of him rejecting her terrified her and it was those conflicting thoughts that caused her to toss and turn until she just couldn't take it any longer. By 5AM Catherine had given up having only dozed fitfully of and on through the night. She got up to sit and wait for the dawn and her first meeting which interestingly enough was not going to be with Bob but with an old acquaintance who owed her a favor for rescuing his daughter from the clutches of a rival gang boss. Saul told Catherine that if she ever needed a favor she could come to him and he would do whatever she needed doing. At 8am she was on her way to Saul's restaurant where she knew he would be, Saul was an early riser preferring to get his business out of the way before noon so that he could enjoy the rest of his day with his family. All in all Saul was a pretty decent guy for a crime boss and since Catherine's rescue of his daughter three years ago he has taken to cleaning up his act and staying relatively out of trouble. Catherine stopped a few blocks away and around a corner from Saul's Place, preferring not to have her car noticed, just in case. Catherine walked through the alley way to the back door of Saul's Place and knocked. What looked like one of the cooks opened the door, he looked surprised to see her maybe he had been expecting a delivery.

"I'd like to speak with Saul, tell him Catherine needs a favor, he'll know what you mean. I'll stand out here and wait."

The man closed the door and a few moments later the door opened to a large man in his mid-fifties "Catherine, me amore come in, come in. How can Saul serve the best detective in New York?"

Laughing, Catherine gave Saul a hug "It is so good to see you, I haven't heard a peep about you, it looks like you are doing very well."

"I am keeping to my promise to straighten out my life to keep my family safe and to keep me out of jail."

"I'm sure you are," she said with a twinkle in her eye that told Saul she believed him for as far as she could throw him, which wasn't far considering his incredible size.

Laughing, Saul led her into the dining room and held a chair out for her. Snapping his fingers at a passing waiter Saul told him to bring "Lady Catherine" a cup of coffee and a pastry to which she replied "just coffee please, black. Thank you"

"So, Catherine, I take it this is not a social visit."

"No Saul, it isn't but I assure you, if you can do me this one favor I will be back and it will be for a social visit because I am hoping it will lead to a celebration."

Intrigued, Saul asked for the details of what Catherine wanted. He was quite taken aback by her request, it was the one thing he never expected to hear from her. Once Catherine explained the situation though, Saul understood very well.

"Consider your request done, I will get on it right away and you should have your results by noon at the latest if that works for you."

Smiling at him Catherine told him that suited her just fine. She finished her coffee, gave Saul another hug and left his establishment. Saul shook his head as he watched Catherine walk away, when push came to shove even the most noble can resort to things uncharacteristic of them. With a sigh Saul picked up his phone and started making the phone calls necessary to carry out the wishes requested of him.

Walking back to her car Catherine second guessed her request of Saul, nope there was no other alternative, no matter how she looked at the situation this was the only way. Getting in her car she drove to the remand center where her father was being held, prisoners are held there until they are found guilty and sentenced. She had already called ahead to make the arrangements for the meeting and was assured that Bob would be waiting for her in the room usually set aside for lawyers and their clients. It was private and had no recording devices due to lawyer/client privileges, Catherine did not want the information she had to get out to anyone else.

Walking up to the reception counter she showed her badge, handed in her gun for safe keeping and was escorted to the room where Bob was waiting. Nodding to the guard to indicate that she wished to be left alone with the prisoner, he turned and closing the door behind him and left her standing staring at the man who had single handedly destroyed her life.

"Catherine, it's so nice to see you" Bob was hoping this was going to be nice visit but he seriously doubted it would be if the storm clouds in Catherine's eyes were any indication. Bob felt his palms start to sweat and he mentally tried to prepare himself for whatever it was that brought Catherine to him this day.

Catherine opened the manila file in her hands and slowly started taking out pictures and documents and laying them on the table in front of Bob. As Bob noted the pictures and documents his face paled and his heart started to race. He surmised that Vincent must have told her about the blackmail and that they had found the box hidden in the attic of his house. His lawyer had been unable to grab it and was supposed to go there this weekend but it appeared to be too late now. Bob was hoping he could bluff his way into making Catherine believe there were more of these hidden elsewhere but Catherine had already noted the panic that crossed Bob's face and knew she had everything he had on her and on Vincent.

"So, Vincent told you about the pictures" Bob thought it best to confess, throw her off guard make her think he was not shaken by this but Catherine wasn't buying it.

"Actually Vincent doesn't know I know about this, he doesn't know I am here and he doesn't know about all of this but he will later when I go see him to let him know and to show him"

Bob was confused, if Vincent didn't tell her then how did she know? He decided to ask her "So, how did you find out then?"

"I'm a detective, Bob" she said sarcastically, "and a very good one at that as you can tell. It's not for you to know how I know, it is just for you to know that I do know and that I have the entire box, have looked at all the documents, have searched and wiped out the USB memory sticks. You thought you could use this to keep Vincent away from me. You blackmailed him, you changed him, kidnapped him, brainwashed him, erased his memories and sent him on a killing spree." Not once during this did Catherine raise her voice, she kept it even but there was no mistaking the hatred, the anger. "You are not my father, I am not your daughter. From this day forward, you will never, ever see me again. I don't want anything from you, I never want to hear from you and I never, ever want to see you again. When I walk through that door I guarantee I will not think of you ever again. Oh, and I am going straight to Vincent from here, I only hope that he will forgive me for shooting him because now that I know all of this, I should have let him tear you apart."

Bob was so stunned by Catherine's display and tone of voice that he just sat there in silence.

Catherine gathered up all the documents she had scattered on the table and placed them back in the manila folder. She turned, knocked on the door to alert the guard outside that she was ready to leave, when he opened the door she stepped through and left the remand center never once looking back.

Had she looked back she would have seen the tears of sorrow and rage on Bob's face, sorrow at loosing Catherine for good and rage that she was running back to that beast. Bob's mind raced, he had to figure out a way to get rid of Vincent. There was no way he was going to sit and let this happen, she didn't understand, Vincent was a beast, no longer a human and he would only get worse. He had to get a hold of his contacts. When the guard came to collect him Bob requested the use of a phone. Taking him to a payphone Bob dialed a number and spoke only one word "Condor" then hung up. The guard led Bob out onto the exercise field where a few other inmates were milling around. Bob saw an empty bench and walked over and sat down. He had been sitting on this bench, staring out onto the enclosed field watching the inmates interact when suddenly he felt a sharp pain at the base of his skull. White hot pain like lightening shot up into his brain. Within seconds the drug that was injected into Bob took affect and his heart stopped. Bob's head dropped forward and he fell face first onto the dirt in front of the bench. An alarm was raised and guards from all sides came rushing to where Bob lay.

Catherine was at her desk at the precinct when the call came in from the remand center.

"Detective Chandler?"

"Yes?"

"This is Dr. Bennett at the county morgue, I need to you come in and identify your father's remains if you could?"

"My father? But I was just with him a few hours ago and he was fine when I left."

"Yes, well, it appears an inmate with a grudge against him had injected him with some kind of drug killing him instantly, he probably didn't even know what happened. Are you able to come in and sign some papers? We do need to have a family member or someone make a positive ID."

"Of course Dr. Bennett, I will be right there." Catherine hung up the phone and sat back.

"Catherine? What is it? Did something happened to Bob?" Tess asked her.

"It appears Bob was killed shortly after my visit with him, he was drugged or something it seems and I have to go and identify the body."

"Guess you better get going then huh?"

"Ya, guess so. I think I'm going to head right over to the houseboat afterwards as well. I should probably let Vincent know too."

Tess watched Catherine walk away, she contemplated whether Catherine hated Bob enough to get him killed. There was no way to prove it though, inmates died at the hands of other inmates all the time, it was a dangerous place to be especially for an ex FBI agent but the timing sure was convenient.

Catherine drove over to the morgue that was near the remand center, after today she really hoped she never had to step foot on this side of New York ever again. Getting out of the car, she walked to the front door and told the receptionist that she was here to see Dr. Bennett. The Receptionist told her to have a seat that Dr. Bennett would be with her presently. After a few moments an elderly gentleman walked through the opaque doors, he was wearing a white lab coat with a name tag on the left breast pocket.

"Detective Chandler? I'm Dr. Bennett, will you follow me? I will take you to the viewing room."

Dr. Bennett led the way through the opaque glass doors, down a long hallway and stopped before a glass window. Through the glass Catherine could see Bob laying on a gurney a white sheet covering him. It appeared as though he was asleep. Catherine took a deep breath and turned to the medical examiner.

"That's Bob Reynolds" She stated.

"He is your father isn't he?" Dr. Bennett asked.

"Yes, but I didn't know him personally, he left my mother before I was born and once I had him arrested I pretty much stayed away from him until this morning to ask him a few questions about my past. He wasn't very forthcoming and I left not knowing any more than I had before. You said he was drugged? Can you tell me what happened?

"It appears he was injected at the base of his skull by a tiny syringe right into his brain stem. He probably felt a momentary flash of pain like a migraine coming on and then he was gone. The guards tried to resuscitate him but it was too late."

"I'm sure they are going to be looking into this to see if they can uncover who killed him?"

"They will try but don't hold your breath waiting. Sometimes prison exacts its own justice and unless a witness steps forward most of the time these things don't get solved."

"Well, I guess there isn't much else I can do here. You said you had some forms for me to sign?"

"Yes, a general release form. I gather you will be making the funeral arrangements?"

"I don't think there is anyone else to do it so I guess so although I am not entirely sure what to do about that."

"Well if you wish, we can have him cremated and then you can do whatever you want with his ashes. That should make it a bit easier."

"That actually sounds like a good idea, thank you Doctor." Catherine held out her hand to shake the Doctors hand.

"Follow me Detective and I will get those forms for you, I will also get you the one authorizing us to cremate his body." Dr. Bennett led Catherine back to reception where the girl there had a clipboard with all the necessary forms ready for Catherine to fill out. Catherine sat on one of the couches, she filled and signed the forms and handed them back to the receptionist, said good-bye and walked out the door.

When she was back in her car she sat there thinking 'Bob was dead,' she couldn't believe it. As much as she hated Bob she really did want him to answer for his crimes. Sure she had been afraid he might still try to retaliate but she was ready to deal with that when the time came. She wondered if Saul had done an extra favor for her. Well, nothing to be done about that now. She turned the key in the ignition, time to go and see Vincent. Taking a deep breath, she put the car in drive and pulled away from the parking space.

Vincent was standing at the counter on his laptop when his senses detected a familiar presence on the other side of the door just as a knock sounded. He had to figure out a way to keep her from coming back here. It was too dangerous and he feared for her every time they ran into each other. He opened the door and gazed upon the face of the one he adored.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, keeping a stern look on his face.

"Can I come in?" Catherine gazed into his face, he didn't look like he had slept much and the scowl made him look even more haggard. Vincent stepped aside to let her in and closed the door. He noted that she had a manila folder in her hands and wondered why her heart was racing.

"You didn't answer my question"

"I know"

"Your heart is racing, want to tell me about it"

"I can't get anything past you can I?" She said looking at him with a small grin. She had no idea how to start this conversation so she thought she might as well just jump in feet first. Taking a deep breath she spoke "Why didn't you tell me that Bob was blackmailing you?" She spoke so softly that Vincent had to pause at what he had just heard.

"JT! I'm going to kill him" he growled out.

"Your best friend? He did you a favor. You should have told me Vincent. Why didn't you?"

"Bob told me he would ruin you, turn you in. He had evidence, damning evidence and I knew if I told you, you would go after him and you have no idea how dangerous he is. Even now you being here is putting your life, your career in danger as well as my own life."

Catherine could hear the fear and frustration in his voice. "Well, you don't have to worry about it any longer" She passed him the manila folder she was carrying. "Last night JT, Tess and I went to Bob's house, I had a key, we searched the entire house and found this. This is only part of it, the rest is at JT's. It's everything he has on you and on me. Pictures, documents, everything. Bob has nothing on you anymore, not even his word."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Bob is dead. He was killed this morning by an inmate, I was just at the morgue giving a positive ID."

"He's dead?" Vincent leaned back against one of the bar stools that stood at his center island, the shock on his face evident as he let this news sink into his brain. Could he really be free? Bob's evil shadow no longer hovering over him over Catherine like an entity waiting to strike them down. Dare he even hope?

Catherine stepped closer to him. Vincent could still hear her heart racing. As she neared him he gazed into her eyes. "All this crap you put us through, the anger, the bitter words, pushing me away. It was so unnecessary. Do you have any idea how badly you hurt me? I thought you rejected me." Tears barely contained shone in Catherine's eyes as she confessed all the hurt and pain she endured because he didn't confide in her.

Vincent couldn't handle seeing her in such pain and it mirrored his own "I broke my own heart that day, Catherine. I had made so many mistakes, have done such evil things. Bob had enough incriminating evidence that I felt I had no recourse."

Catherine stood there shaking her head. "So much has happened, I too have made my share of mistakes. The question is, can we move forward from this?"

"Catherine, I can't ask you to stay with me the way I am. I can't give you any kind of normal life. No matter how much I love you, I just can't ask that, it's not fair to you."

"You don't have to ask me, I stay willingly. We are better together than we are apart, you and I both know that. It's our destiny."

Catherine looked directly into Vincent's eyes and stepped close enough to feel the heat from his body. Vincent closed his eyes, he could smell her scent, feminine and soft coming off her in waves, assaulting his senses like an exotic perfume. He was still unsure, her safety, her life meant so much more than any need he may have and it was in that moment that she reached out and touched his face and all restraint fled. Vincent opened his eyes and saw the love he had so missed in her eyes. He put his arm around her and with his hand in the small of her back pulled her closer and lowering his head he touched her lips with his own. Softly he kissed her, feeling her response as she leaned in tighter to his body, her fingers warm as she ran them through his hair deepening the kiss. Catherine was stealing his breath away and he could feel her opening herself to him like a flower to sunshine and in that moment time stood still. In that moment all was forgiven.

Walking away from the houseboat, Gabe could not believe what he saw, Catherine had run back into Vincent's arms and it looked like she was going to stay there. Jealousy ripped through him like poison and hatred towards them both darkened his eyes. Gabe got back into his car and drove away. He had been following her all day trying to figure out what she was doing. The thought of her running back to Vincent enraged him and he vowed to destroy them. A sly grin came over Gabe's face, he knew just the person to help him eliminate Vincent once and for all.


End file.
